Thursday 17 September 2015

Robert M. Pope of New London, CT - Travelling around the World



Robert M. Pope was what is known as a military brat, the son of a Naval officer who moved frequently as his father was stationed in various naval billets.  From Newport, RI to Key West to Hawaii, Chicago to Charleston, South Carolina to Wales, England and back to Mayport and Jacksonville, FL, Robert M. Pope endured the good and the bad of traveling around the world as a son of the US military.  An estimate of between 9 and 12 million military brats is probably not an exaggeration, as a military brat is defined as any person who grew up in a military family and moved frequently from installation to installation, with one or both parents enlisted from 10 to 30 years or more.

Robert M Pope New London CT

Robert M. Pope of New London, CT learned first-hand of the hard life of the military brat.  Robert’s adoptive father was a career Naval officer, and Robert learned the hard lessons of moving from installation to installation, making friends and losing them, learning new schools only to move and have to learn another one, and the fears of the danger his father faced as he fought in the TET offensive of Vietnam.

As a child, Robert M Pope New London CT came to understand the sacrifice necessary for a military man to provide a good life for his children, as the life is very hard on families.  Children of those in the military may suffer more anxiety and depression as adults, due to the toll on them from the constant moves, absence of one or both parents, and stress of being in new situations on an ongoing basis.